100 Healthy Foods for Toddlers

When you’re at a loss for which healthy foods to feed your toddler, this list of 100 healthy foods for toddlers is a great place to start.

Food for Toddlers

This toddler food list includes fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, healthy dairy, lean protein, and more to ensure that you have easy ideas to feed your toddler well.These are whole foods that are easy to self-feed, because we know that toddlers love their independence! And these toddler foods have a range of the nutrients that our kids need to grow up strong and healthy.

How to Choose Healthy Foods for Toddlers

It’s so much fun to start solids with babies because they are eager to eat most things (and because they haven’t yet learned how to talk!). I think if we channel that energy as we continue to feed our 1, 2, and 3 year olds, it might help us to feel optimistic about serving them a range of healthy foods. A key to this is avoiding food ruts—and trying not to serve the same 3 foods all the time.

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It’s about routine and regularity. Here’s an example: It’s much easier to convince my older daughter to eat oatmeal for breakfast when we have it regularly. And when we forget to have it at least once a week, it can be more of a struggle because it’s become unfamiliar. (I don’t want to lose it as an option so I do my best to make sure we have it once a week!)

It’s also about exposure. Similarly, when we don’t have beets for a few months because we don’t have them in the garden, it takes a few times of offering them to her before she’s ready to give them a shot. And it’s hard to remember those forgotten foods when life is so busy—and it’s easy to feel like our kids don’t like something when they reject it once…even though they might just need a few tries to remember that they actually do like it.

Toddler Meals for Picky Eaters

Remember when you fed your baby something and they spit it out? It wasn’t the end of the world and in many cases, it was funny. We simply cleaned it up and tried again another time—which can be a great tactic to use with toddler foods. Remember: Just because your toddler didn’t want or like something today doesn’t mean that they won’t ever eat it!

Finger Food for Toddlers

I hope this list of safe and simple foods for toddlers comes in handy when you run out of ideas for what to serve your toddler, or to help you remember which foods you haven’t served in a while. Choose from these finger foods to assemble healthy toddler meals and snacks—and to help yourself remember that there are so many wonderful foods for toddlers available if we can just remember what they are!

100 Healthy Foods for Toddlers

ACORN SQUASH
Roasted and served in cubes or roasted and mashed.

ALMOND BUTTERThinned or spread on toast or fruit or stirred into oatmeal or yogurt.

APPLES
Fresh, very thinly sliced or shredded; diced and roasted or sauteed, or in applesauce.

APRICOTS
Fresh, diced or dried and diced. Try them softened in oatmeal.

AVOCADO
Cubed or sliced or mashed and served on a spoon. Or, you can add 1-2 tablespoons to a smoothie.

BABY PUFFsThese are a staple of many baby and toddler diets. Use them as a way to introduce a new texture and flavors.

BABY RICE CRACKERS
Try with a little mashed avocado or a thin smear of nut butter.

BANANA
Fresh or mashed and stirred into pancake batter or yogurt. Or added to a smoothie, whether fresh or frozen.

BARLEY
Served in a soup or as a whole grain side dish. Add some cheese, mashed sweet potato, or avocado to help it hold together.